Improvement in cotton-gins



C. BRAKELL.

Cotton Gin.

Patented Dec. 5, 1865.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

CHRISTOPHER BRAKELL, OF OLDHAM, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-GINS.

Specification forming part. of Letters Patent No. 5l ,402, dated December 5, 1365.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CHRISTOPHER BRAKELL, of Oldham, in the county of Lancaster, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Ginnin g or Cleaning Cotton or other Fibrous Materials; and I, the said CHRISTOPHER BRAKELL, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner the saine is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof-that is to say:

Heretofore, in constructing a cotton-gin of the class known as Macarthys gins, it has been usual to combine a gin-roller, acting with a doctor or knife pressed against the gin-roller, together with avibrating knife or beater, to strip off the seeds and foreign matters. In some cases revolving rollers or axes having thereon pegs,vanes, or spiral blades have been applied to the feeding sides of such gins, in order to keep presenting the seed-cotton to the action of the gin-rollers and their doctors or pressing-knives.

Now, my invention consists in the employment of what I call a roller-knife7 in place of the ordinary reciprocating knife or beater, in combination with the gin-roller and doctor or pressin g-knife of a cotton-gin. The roller-knife consists of a roller or axis havin g fixed thereon a series of circular plates or disks, or equiva` lent instruments, the edges of which come nearly in contact with the edge of the doctor or pressing-knife, and also with the surface of the gin-roller, in such manner as to cause thc seeds and refuse to be beaten off, and at the same time to cause the bers and seeds to be moved to and fro along the edge of the doctor or pressing-knife.

In the drawings, Figure l is an end eleva tion of part of one of my improved gins. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same, showing the doctor or pressing-knife below the ginningroller. Fig. 3 is a plan. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of part of one of my improved gins, showing the fixed or pressing knife fixed above the ginning-roller.

In each of these figures the saine letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts.

ais the gin or roller, of the ordinary construction, covered with leather, or it may be of any suitable material.

bisanotheri'oller,havinganumberof knives, c, consisting of flat circular plates or disks fixed at au angle with the axis of' the roller. Ihis roller b, I call the knife-roller.

d is the ordinary stationary or fixed knife or doctor, which is caused to press against the surface ofthe gin-roller a by means of springs c. The doctor or knife is nearly in contact with the edges ot' the tlat plates or disks of the knife-roller b.

The ends of the axes of the two rollers tt and b are supported in the bearings f on the side frames, g, which are connected by crossframes h..

rIlie knife-roller is partly inclosed in a casing, i, part of which is formed as a grating or grid, lc. f

lis a feed-board, on which the attendant places the seed-cotton or other t'ibroiis material to be operated upon, which is progressively pushed to the casing t.

The gin-roller a and the roller-knife b are geared together, as shown in the drawings. The strap or baud from the driving-power is applied to the pulley m and the motion is communicated therefrom. The seed-cotton or other brous material to be cleaned is constantly fed into the casing i, between the spaces of the knives of the knife-roller b, by which knives the cotton or fiber is brought in contact with the surface of the roller ct, and by such roller b the cotton is moved along the roller a and the pressing-knife or doctor, which stops the seeds, burrs, or other refuse, which are cleared away from the edge of the pressing-knife by the action of the knife-roller, and such seeds and refuse pass through the grid.

The cross-frame n, on which the pressingknife or doctor d and its spring c are Xed, has the bolt-holes (by which the knife -or doctor is fixed to the frame of the giu) slotted, so that it can be easily raised or lowered. I have found that a speed for the gin-roller 0f about one hundred and fty revolutions per minute and for the knife-roller of about five hundred revolutions per minute answers very well.

The action of the knife-roller is such that it not only beats the seeds and refuse, but also moves the unginned cotton to and fro along other refuse from the cotton or other fibers.

In the drawings it will be seen that the circular plates or disks forming the knives of the knife-roller are so placed that their acting parts, at or near their peripheries, extend beyond or overlap each other to such an extent that the seed-cotton is moved by each knife along the pressing-knife or doctor to a point some distance Within the range of the action ofthe next knife, by which the seed-cotton is moved a sufcicnt distance for the effectual separation of the seed from the cotton. I have found in practice that an overlap of from one-half to threefourths of the distance between the knives answers well for long-stapled cotton, and from one-fourth to one-halt' of the spaces between the neighboring knives for cotton of short staple. The distance between the knives I prefer to be one and three-fourths to two inches for long staples and one and one-half to one and three-fourths inch for short staples; but this may be varied, and the depth of the knives from their circumference to the body of the roller I prefer to make about one and one-half y to two inches. The advantages derived from the action of the knives in consequence of their thus overlapping each other are not only that the seed and impurities are more eifectually and advantageously removed from the cotton or bers, but the surface of the gin-roller is better preserved, as the working is more equally divided over its Whole surface.

At the point marked 0 a guard is applied to the roller-knife embracing about one inch of its circumference and being nearly in contact with it. This is desirable, not only to prevent the seeds from being crushed by getting between the edges of the knives of the rollerknfe and the surface of the gin-roller, but also to prevent the choking up ofthe gin by too much cotton passing to the roller-knife.

As the gin-roller a Wears away and becomes of less diameter it is moved up to the doctor or pressing-knife d and to the roller-knife b. This object may be accomplished in various ways. In the drawings it is shown to be attained by forming the inner surface of the driving-pulley m on the shaft of the gin-roller a with internal teeth, which gear with a spurpinion, p. This pinion is xed on a spindle or shaft, q, and on the other end of this shaft is fixed a Wheel, r, which gears with the wheel s on the shaft or spindle of the knife-roller b. By this arrangement it will be seen that the axis ofthe gin-roller with its pinion can be moved nearer to the roller-knife or farther from it Without interfering with the proper gearing of the Wheels.

Having now described the nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is performed and carried into effect, I would have it understood that What I claim is- The arrangement of the roller-knife b with a gin-roller, a, and pressing-knife or doctor d, as herein described.

C. BRAKELL.

In presence of E. W. BARTON, W. H. TALBOT, Both of Manchester, clerks to Darbisht're (fc Ashworth', Solicitors. 

